War of the Bolivian State

The War of the Bolivian State (1 August 1898-19 February 1899) was a brief war fought between Chile and the Bolivian State from late 1898 to early 1899. The reactionary Chilean government sought to occupy the countries of Peru and Bolivia in the aftermath of the War of the Pacific to ensure that their trade rights would be upheld and that the two countries would not grow too strong, and the Chileans gained an opportunity to do so when the Bolivian military seized power in 1890. In 1898, the Chileans decided to declare war on Bolivia, demanding the annexation of what remained of the country in the aftermath of their Occupation of La Paz in 1892. The 17,757-strong Chilean army under Ruperto Blanco defeated Francisco Freire's 3,000-strong Bolivian army at Cochabamba, allowing for the Chileans to force the Bolivians to surrender. All of Bolivia was subjected to Chilean occupation, and the country was occupied for several years.